Violet Beauregarde
Violet Beauregarde is one of five children entering Willy Wonka's factory. Intro In each version, Violet Beauregarde is the third of the five children to find one of Willy Wonka's exclusive Golden Tickets, the second of two girls to win a Golden Ticket, as well as the second to be kicked off the tour due to disobedience of Wonka's orders. She exhibits a more competitive spirit than the five other ticket winners, particularly in the 2005 movie, in which her ambitious behavior is greatly expanded to include her participation in sports and martial arts. Violet is also a notoriously relentless and competitive gum chewer, though she temporarily curbed her habit in order to focus Wonka Bars and search for the ticket. Most versions have Violet calling her mother simply "Mother", out of arrogance or pride, depending on which adaptation is considered, but according to the play, she calls her mother "Mom" instead. Violet just ignored Willy Wonka, so she is very ignorant. In the book she is called Miss Violet Beauregarde and is mostly called a lady in spite of her bad manners, so she can be assumed to be as old as Methos. Appearances Role in the novel Violet is described in the original novel as having a "great big mop of curly hair" and as someone who talks "very fast and very loudly." Like Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, and Mike Teavee her nationality is not mentioned (she hails from America in the films). Both her parents accompany her to the factory. During her press interview she talks more about her gum-chewing habit than the ticket. However, she does show off the ticket, described as "waving it around as if she was attempting to flag down a taxicabs", and says that when she learned of the Golden Ticket contest, she put a moratorium on her gum-chewing, buying Wonka bars instead as a means to test herself. She is depicted from illustrator to illustrator wearing jeans and a T-shirt, as a reflection of her tomboyish ways. She loves gum, although more to see how long she can chew it than to enjoy its flavor or to freshen breath. She claims to be a gum-chewing champion and that she had worked on one wad of gum for three consecutive months, sticking it to her bedknob while asleep and behind her ear while eating Role in the 1971 film In the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Violet was depicted as a preteen girl from Miles City, Montana, and was played by Denise Nickerson and was a girly girl. Her father, Sam Beauregarde, is a "prominent" local politician, civic leader and a used car salesman who uses Violet's television interview for free advertising of his car dealership. Violet uses her television interview to demean Cornelia Prinzmetel far more than she does in the novel. There is no interaction between Violet and Veruca Salt (or unused character Miranda Piker) in the novel, but in the film, both girls are seen pushing and shoving each other when walking down the Chocolate Room stairs. Violet thinks Veruca is stupid and annoying, calling her a nit in the 1971 film when she begs her father for an Oompa Loompa and also calls her a twit when Veruca says she (Violet) got two everlasting gobstoppers. Like Mike Teavee, Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt, Violet gets along fairly well with Charlie. She seems less rude in this film than in the 2005 film and, as the Oompa Loompas say in her departure song, she just needs to improve on her manners. Role in the 2005 Film In the 2005 film adaption, Violet (played by AnnaSophia Robb) is again a preteen, but her hometown has been changed to Atlanta, Georgia. However, unlike the novel and 1971 film, she is mean to Charlie (more than Augustus was), and goes so far as to call him a "loser". She and Veruca also don't seem to get along, despite the two of them agreeing to be 'best friends'. The two glance at each other in a way that implies some animosity and that they both intend to outlast the other in the bid to win the special prize. When Violet inflates into a blueberry, Veruca is shown smirking, pleased that her opposing female competition has been eliminated. She is athletic and has a vicious competitive streak, having won 263 trophies and medals in various events ranging from martial arts competitions, to gymnastics, to swimming and to gum-chewing contests; she is a junior champion and world-record holder in the latter. She is also shown to be a bad winner. Violet and her mother wear matching outfits and have matching hairstyles. Violet had been working on the same piece of gum for three months straight at the time that she had found her Golden Ticket. During the ticket search, she temporarily laid off gum and switched to Wonka Bars, keeping the aforementioned wad stored behind her ear in the meantime. Violet's mother Scarlett Beauregarde (played by Missi Pyle), a former baton champion herself, initially encourages her daughter's unladylike behavior and rude attitude, acting in a true soccer mom/stage mom fashion; however, her approval and pride of her daughter turns into disapproval and embarrassment when they leave the factory and head back to Atlanta, after she encouraged Violet's act of disobedience to Wonka's commands. Role in the musical In the 2013 Sam Mendes London musical, Violet Beauregarde is (instead of being portrayed as white) portrayed as an African-American fame-hungry wannabe from California, with her agent/father Eugene Beauregarde parlaying her mundane talent of gum chewing into celebrity status, with a multitude of endorsements and accomplishments including her own TV show, a line of perfume, and a clothing boutique. In other words, she is just as wealthy as Veruca Salt. This makes the two even more rivals than in the films. Her theme is called "The Double-Bubble Duchess". Violet and her father are escorted by an entourage to the factory entrance. Violet comes to the factory dressed in a sparkly purple and pink disco jumper and a pink backpack. Role in Theatrical adaptations In theatrical adaptations, Violet's role was originally identical to her role in the 1970s film. However, unlike that film but like the 2005 film, Violet was accompanied by her mother. In response to the 2005 film, Violet now tends to be a combination of the two versions (with her mother both hushing her gum chewing habit while secretly encouraging it). Video games In the 1985 video game based off of the book, a level involves the avoiding of blueberries thrown by Violet. The 2005 film's game requires Charlie to escort Violet (by rolling her around) to the Juicing Room, where he must take her to Wonka's juicer to squeeze her back to normal. Violet seems much slimmer than in the movie and her blueberry form is much smaller and similar to the 1971 movie. Violet's downfall In the Novel Wonka invents a gum that contains an entire three-course dinner: tomato soup, roast beef with baked potato and blueberry pie with ice cream (pea soup, roast beef and blueberry ice cream in the theatrical shows), but forbids Violet to chew it as it is not ready for human consumption just yet. Violet rudely snaps that she holds the world record in chewing gum and begins anyway, ignoring Wonka's protests. However, the blueberry pie stage is defective, which causes Violet to turn blue, inflate, and expand into a giant blueberry. She is only able to waddle a little bit due to her girth, and Wonka tells the Oompa Loompas to roll her to the juicing room to extract the blueberry juice immediately, implying that she will explode if nothing is done about the problem. 1971 film In the 1971 version, Violet starts to inflate; her belt blocks some of the swelling. Once the belt pops off, her mid-section is instantly filled with juice. Mike pokes at her inflated stomach, causing her to step back a bit. As her mid-section keeps growing, her arms and legs swell into it, creating a rounded out blueberry. We can see a representation of a blueberry by Violet's collar. Only Violet's head, shoes, and hands are still in contact. But everyone (including her father) is still surprised; due to her girth, and before she can waddle too far, she is lowered to the ground by the watchful Oompa-Loompas. She is rolled to the juicing room by a team of Oompa-Loompas but is not seen again, and there is a twist as Mr. Wonka said she might explode. Violet is not seen again after being rolled away, but Wonka simply assures Charlie that all the other children will be returned to their normal "terrible" selves, but also says that "Maybe they will be a little wiser for the ware." She with the Oompa Loompas is also the only one present during her song in the 1971 film. 2005 Film In the 2005 version, Violet grows more than just a few centimeters, instead swelling to an exponentially higher rate than the novel, almost reaching the Inventing Room's catwalks at three meters. Once she is in her finished blueberry form, Violet's head, feet, and hands are sucked into her. Also her eyes had turned the colour of blueberry. Her mother does not seem to care about this predicament happening to Violet herself, but that her daughter can no longer compete, and asks Wonka about the subject. Veruca responds, "You could put her in a county fair," and by the look on her face, Scarlett is both offended and considering the idea. In this film, it is never stated that Violet might explode, although it is heavily implied due to her massive size that she will. She is also seen exiting the factory with her mother after the tour. She has been deflated back to normal size, but rather than just walking, she somersaults, cartwheels and backflips down the stairs and the front walk, apparently becoming more flexible (implying that the swelling must have stretched her body out) and her skin, hair and clothes are now a seemingly-permanent shade of indigo. She is actually pleased with her new pliability. However, her mother is very angry with her daughter for disobeying Wonka's orders (and embarrassed that she encouraged Violet to do so), and judging by the look on her face and the tone of her voice in her final line ("Yes, but you're blue."), she is fed up with coaching her daughter and treating her like an overconfident athlete, her exceeding pride in her entirely gone. In the novel, Violet ends up with purple skin but there is no mention of increased dexterity. In the Musical In the 2013 musical, Violet meets a far stickier end. After the group enters Wonka's Inventing Room, Violet proclaims that Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper "sucks" and that she wants to chew. Wonka Produces a sample of one of his latest inventions, Gastromolecular Unicellulose Mouthmosh (AKA G.U.M.), which contains all of the flavoring sensations of a full three-course dinner from 1979! Unable to resist, Violet pops the strip of gum in to her mouth and begins to chew. She tastes such flavors as tomato soup, roast chicken, potatoes and gravy, fizzy orange, and cheese and crackers. All the while, Wonka warns Violet that the gum is not ready yet and that she must spit it out before it gets to the pudding. Violet does not listen and reaches the pudding, which turns out to be blueberry pie. At that moment, Violet begins to swell and puff up. Her hips and backside begin to inflate, and she begins to bulge out all over. Her skin also begins to turn purple. She and father begin to panic, and Wonka states that there is an excess of fructose in Violet's fluid sacs and that she is quite literally turning into a blueberry. Immediately, the Oompa-Loompas break out into a disco-tech, 1970's dance Anthem. They appropriately name Violet, "Juicy!" and begin to sing about how she is the biggest and grandest celebrity of all time, and that she is bound to go out with a bang when her fifteen minutes of fame are up. As the Oompa-Loompas sing and dance, Violet waddles behind a mixing vat, and is soon lifted high above the Inventing Room as a round, swollen blueberry with two blue hands, blue feet, and a blue head sticking out lights are then shined on her, causing her to resemble a giant purple disco-ball. Mr. Beauregarde shows no concern for his daughter, only caring about how it would effect his profit with such lines as "I can't put a blueberry on the cover of vogue" after seeing his daughters new body he proclaims she is "huge" and "beautiful" and phones his lawyer excitedly, with intent to profit from Violet's new size by having her on the cover of fruit monthly until Violet explodes in shower of glitter and blueberry goo. Wonka's only reassurance of her survival is the prospect of rescuing the pieces and de-juicing them before she starts to ferment. her final fate remains unknown. In theatrical adaptations In contrast to both films and the novel Violet sings a song before becoming a blueberry, The song aptly named "Chew it" is basically just a monologue about Violet's obsession with chewing after which Violet grabs the three course dinner gum from Wonka and chews leading to the second verse where the others gawk at her and she swells into a blueberry after which she is carried off by Oompa Loompas however, in some versions a bursting sound is heard when Violet is off stage implying she explodes. After being carried off Violet joins the Oompa Loompa song and is then rolled off, she is later seen leaving the factory with the other kids and their parents fully restored to her former self, However some versions have Violet leaving the Factory as a blueberry. Behind the scenes How They Made the Blueberry The filmmakers of the 1971 adaptation simulated the blueberry scene by inflating Nickerson in a rubber suit and composed her outline in two halves of a styrofoam ball, and it took 45 minutes to get her into costume. Nickerson was unable to go to lunch during rehearsals; instead she was rolled around on set every five minutes to keep blood circulating. Nickerson recalls that Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca, saw her as the "cool American girl", but "when she saw Nickerson as a big purple ball, Nickerson was completely embarassed." In the 2005 version, at the request of director Tim Burton, the filmmakers combined real footage of Robb with digital effects in order to increase the overall size of the blueberry rather than just the width (as depicted in the novel), as well as for the scene of Violet and her mother leaving the factory. In the London Musical version, a button on her blue backpack is pressed to make her inflate and she runs around, and is put in a huge metal disco ball for her body. The Sequel Violet does not appear in the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, along with Augustus, Veruca, and Mike, but is mentioned, the only "bad child" to be remembered in the departure novel. Wonka is talking about his new formula, "Wonka-Vite" and invites his grandparents to try it, but Charlie recalls "Are you sure? Remember the gum you gave to Violet Beauregard?" Willy Wonka retorts that he did not "give" her the gum, all gifts from him carry his guarantee and he did not give away a product that he still needed to test out, rather she stole it from him despite his orders not to. Song The original song in the novel featured a "Miss Bigelow" who chewed gum day in and day out for years before her jaws bit her tongue in two and spent her life quietly, and how the Oompa Loompas wanted to prevent the same thing happening to Violet. In the 2005 version, this song takes place in the Inventing Room, where the multicourse gum was created. It is sung by the Oompa Loompas while Violet is being rolled around in blueberry form, and the lyrics contain 42 repetitions of the word "chewing." The track uses the same pitch in voice, accompanied by '70's disco music' . In the 1971 version, the song merely talks about how chewing gum for long periods of time is repulsive. In the theatrical shows, her song is called "Chew It", which talks about her love of chewing gum and how it's her life long dream to chew the same stick all her life. It is followed by her Oompa-Loompa song, which is either sung by the Oompa-Loompas with her present, by her with the Oompa-Loompas present, by the Oompa-Loompas without her present, or by the actress who plays Violet while backstage with only the Oompa-Loompas and a Violet blueberry model present onstage. About Violet Violet obtains a monomaniacal connection with chewing gum. She even tries to break the world record on how long she chews the gum, which she boasts to have beaten her very best friend. In the book, little of her personality is revealed. However, in the 1971 film her personality is extremely talkative, brash, cynical and sometimes hot-headed. She unleashes her temper on her unseen mother, her father and twice on Veruca Salt. She has little degree of bearability, and becomes annoyed with Veruca's constant demanding to her father. Her personality in the modern adaption is more detailed. She is just as arrogant as Veruca Salt (and her mother), and also overcompetitive. She shows incredible reflexes in martial arts and almost inhuman speed. Her brash, vicious personality is thickened by her mother's exceeding vanity and unhealthily strong praise of her daughter. Violet also shows nihilism and extreme cynicism towards other people, such as Veruca Salt and Charlie Bucket. She is just as callous as her mother, labelling everyone else as losers and non-entities. However, this callousness is immediately disapproved of by her mother when they exit the factory. Category:Willy Wonka characters Category:Characters Category:Kids Category:Beauregarde Family Category:Female characters Category:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Category:Villains